Keith Lusher 08.31.24
Croaker is arguably one of the most delicious species of inshore fish. My history with catching croaker goes back to my high school days when my friends and I would catch an ice chest full of fish in one day.
The equation was simple: find deep inshore passes with a moving tide and fish on the bottom using a drop-shot rig. Everything was light—light line, small hooks, and an ultralight rod and reel. For bait, we would bring a few dead shrimp and use small pieces for the first hour or so. Then, when we ran out of shrimp, we would cut the belly meat from an undersized fish and slice up small pieces to use as bait for the rest of the day.
After filling the ice chest with fish, we would bring them back to the house, clean them, and stack the ziplock bags in the freezer for future fish frys. While the fishing was memorable, it was the fish frys that stood out the most. This event would provide some of the best-tasting fillets we’ve ever had.
Not much has changed over the years; Croaker is still my favorite saltwater inshore fish to serve up. However, I have adopted a technique I learned from an old Cajun friend named Ben Higgins. I was cleaning a mess of croaker one day with Higgins, and I noticed him running his fillet knife down the middle of the fillet before tossing it into a bowl of ice water. I asked what he was doing, and he simply stated, “I’m splitting the ends.” Higgins explained that he was slicing about 2 inches off each end of the fillet. Since the best part of fried fish is the thin end, which fries crispy, Higgins was creating more of what is most people’s favorite section of a fried fish fillet.
Splitting the ends is best done when initially cleaning the fish, but the fillets can also be sliced right before adding them to the batter.
Of course, this method is not only good for croaker but also for all types of fish. I recently fried up a few speckled trout fillets and replicated Higgins’ “split end” style. I was rewarded with a batch of delicious fillets with crispy ends.
So, if your favorite part of the fish fillet is the crispy fried end section, I highly recommend trying Mr. Higgins’ split ends technique! It’s a crowd-pleaser and might even be a conversation starter at your next fish fry!
